79°
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) found that the Shelton laboratory failed t do the following:
- Provide each laboratory employee who displayed signs and symptoms of exposure to hazardous chemicals the opportunity for an appropriate medical examination.
- Inform each laboratory employee of the signs and symptoms of exposure to acetic acid, alcohols, formaldehyde, xylene and other chemicals used in the laboratory.
- Train laboratory employees on how to detect the presence or release of hazardous chemicals.
- Conduct a hazard assessment to determine what type of personal protective equipment laboratory employees would need and use.
- Inform employees of the location and availability of the laboratory’s chemical hygiene plan and provide them training about the plan.
- Implement each section of the chemical hygiene plan for laboratory employees exposed to health hazards associated with xylene, acetic acids, alcohols and formaldehyde.
- Ensure that the plan contained procedures for the safe separation and removal of incompatible chemical waste and included procedures to ensure proper and adequate performance of protective equipment.
- Provide laboratory employees with, or post, the results of chemical exposure monitoring and sampling.
“A laboratory chemical hygiene plan is not a paper exercise. It’s a continuous ongoing process that is key to preventing employees from being sickened by the hazardous chemicals with which they work. Our inspection found several serious deficiencies concerning the Shelton laboratory,” said Robert Kowalski, OSHA’s area director in Bridgeport.
The inspection also determined that the Shelton laboratory failed to do the following:
- Prevent construction workers working in the lab from having contact with xylene, acetic acid and alcohols and monitor or evaluate them for exposure to formaldehyde.
- Post a summary of the laboratory’s work-related illnesses or injuries for calendar year 2015.
- Remove plastic covers from sprinkler heads and carbon monoxide detectors in newly renovated sections of the laboratory.
OSHA proposed penalties totaling $152,435 for the violations.
Click here to follow Daily Voice Shelton and receive free news updates.
